Giving vs. Kingdom Building

Giving vs. Kingdom Building

But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, so that he may establish his covenant which he swore unto thy fathers, as it is this day. Deuteronomy 8:18

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to visit the Hobby Lobby office complex in Oklahoma City and meet with its founder David Green. As I drove down the street to the main office building for the meeting I saw building after building encompassed in this 3.4 million square foot corporate complex and I in my awe came to this conclusion: God wants us all to be David Greens!  If we can get the building blocks right, as Mr. Green did, God would Bless us in the same manner. That’s saying a lot as Hobby Lobby has 575 stores and annual sales of 2.8 billion with 21,000 employees.

In this writing I would like to present one of those building blocks: becoming a Kingdom Builder and not just a ‘giver’.

We all know what it is to be a giver. Whether in the church offering plate or through the mail we all have ample chance and opportunity to be faithful in our giving as the saying goes. But what is Kingdom Building? That’s what Mr. Green is – A Kingdom Builder and that is why I think the Lord is Blessing him so much. Giving can be brainless and rote. It can be a responsibility or obligation.  Kingdom Building is intentional and is in partnership with God’s heart.  To be a Kingdom Builder we must hold our resources and give only where God has directed us to. We must show God that He can trust us not to give but to be directed. We must stop funding other men’s ministries and start funding our own ministries and our calling!

Nehemiah instructed the priest to build the portion of the wall directly in front of their homes. Nehemiah 3:28 “Above the Horse Gate, the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house”. The ‘Givers’ are so busy helping others build their portion of the wall they do not even see or inquire about their own wall assignment. All of us have our assignment in wall building – Kingdom Building. Few of us know what it is and where we should put our time, energy, talents and money. God cannot give or trust us with great wealth because with the wealth comes a large assignment and a large portion of wall. We have got to be busy with our own assignment and when we are and as we complete it God will give us more wall to build and more resources to do it with. There is a lot of EXRTA wall to build because too many workers are bunched together. So much so, that no one can even see the wall that they are all concentrating themselves around. Because they can’t even see the wall, they can’t tell if any real progress is being made in building. Let me restate it this way: Large ministries are soaking up all the money so gifted masons are unemployed or underemployed. Very little Kingdom Building work is really getting done. Nothing against large ministries provided they are accomplishing Kingdom Building work, but what about your calling and your wall?

So here is my advice to those who want to graduate from being a ‘giver’ into becoming a Kingdom Builder.

1. Set up a tithing account and put all your tithes as you receive them into that account. I tithe on the cash that I take out of my business not on what the business makes nor my net worth gain- one day, when the business or investment is sold, then that also will be tithed by me but until then I feel the Lord has told me to ‘let it well up’.  Make your gifts from this account. IMPORTANT: Once you have placed the money in the separate tithe account, YOU HAVE paid the Tithe. Also, note, It is my experience that the Devil has permission to steal the unpaid tithe (think about that).
2. Make distributions once a month from your tithe account. I send a disbursement summary by the 5th of every month to my account manager which is National Christian Foundation   https://www.nationalchristian.com/ . It was easy to set up and they do all the work. All funds that are turned over to my own account at National Christian are tax deductible on the turnover, even if they are not dispersed right away. By making distributions once a month I have set up a process line so I can spend my time generating money and not the giving of money. I keep a balance in this account so that I can be generous on every occasion with a pledge of a gift (see 2 Corinthians 9:11).
3. Fund around your calling. Ask the Lord to make clear ‘the wall’ he has put before you and give to that. Hold all ministries accountable to results and only give to those who are highly effective.  Partner with other donors with matching grants and pledges so that your money is multiplied and the ministries must expand the donors involved. Finding like- called Christians and partnering is very effective. Kingdom builders do support their local church but thoughtfully - the main focus of a Kingdom Builders giving is calling. Let me give this example: After hearing that the major Seminaries do not have curriculums in evangelistic preaching, I have started to approach the top schools with an offer to chair a professor if he will offer a course that teaches evangelistic preaching as an elective at the seminary. This is a new work and has immense leverage in fulfilling my calling. Here is another example of funding your own calling: My friend Tim Burke graduated from a ‘giver’ to becoming a Kingdom Builder.  After being underutilized by a big ministry, Tim used his money to start The Transfer Foundation and today ministers to over 10 million people a day on Facebook.
4. Look for and support those who have the same calling as you do. If we all give to the same big ministries who will employ and send todays called and gifted? If you are mindful of this, The Lord will bring them to you. My passion and calling is around evangelism to the Nations so I am always looking to launch new ministers and ideas that do that. The impact and multiplication is enormous and having funded the beginning, the launching, I will share in all the rewards of what is later accomplished. Make your support limited in time so you can move on when needed. Think of your tithe money as venture capital. We want our gifts planted into ‘good ground’. Reread the Parable of the Sower, exchanging the word farmer with donor, and seed with money and you will get the point.
5. Set goals. Kingdom Builders know their calling and are focused in their giving towards goals.  I would have a faith goal of three souls per dollar donated. Highly effective miniseries are able to reach one soul per dollar and by faith we trust that one would reach at least two family members in their lifetime; therefore someone who gives $25,000 a year should have a goal of not less than 1,500,000 souls in 20 years! That is Kingdom Building! The goals are around our Calling and we need numbers to manage and guide us. Numbers keep us focused.  The bottom line is that when you have a goal you will not want to give where the money is not needed or give so someone else doesn’t have to do so - this is the kind of ‘giving’ Kingdom Builders avoid.

Finally, 2 Samuel 7 has one of the most touching and warm chapters in the Bible. King David decides to build a house for God - “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” God is moved by David’s concern and willingness to invest himself for God’s Glory.  He gives David incredible promises and commitments. We can see in this chapter why God said in Acts 13:22 ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart” Kingdom Builders work for God out of a heart of gratitude. Their heart says “Lord, extend the kingdom of Thy dear Son Jesus’’ (Spurgeon Morning and Evening Apri2).

It is that gratitude that causes them to cry out, “Is there not a cause?” They are realizing that so much more can and should be done for The Kingdom of Jesus in their generation.  It is that same gratitude that causes us to step out of ranks of the professionals and seek God’s glory with just a sling-shot. Gratitude compels action and action with God’s direction is when we become Kingdom Builders, “wise master builders” according to the grace that God has given (1 Corinthians 3:10).

King David dedicated silver and gold from all he subdued. David was a Kingdom Builder, Nehemiah was a wall builder – which are you?

‘’Get all you can, give all you can” John D. Rockefeller, a Kingdom Builder.